A Scary Halloween?
by Ceciliavonjoy
Summary: Sonic and friends visit a nice town with an old haunted castle in it for Halloween. Naturally something spooky happens at midnight, and our heroes and anti-heroes have to work out what's going on. ((Kind of old and WILL NOT be continued, apologies and fair warning.))


The scariest night of the year is safe… right? Everything, ghosts, vampires, werewolves, fake.

**Nah.**

This is a tale of what happened near Cliffside castle, the most haunted place in all of Mobius. True to its name, it had been built precariously on the edge of a cliff. What the baron that had lived there 200 years ago had been thinking...no one knew; or, really, bothered to guess.

Ahh... Let me back up a bit; I _must_ tell you about the baron. The fox baron was a strange old chap, getting on in years, always cooped up in his castle, muttering and chuckling. It was common knowledge among his servants that he was rambling on how to become young again, and on the brink of insanity. None of the common people liked him very much, as he taxed them at a high and unfair price, and many wished him an early death. Some even paid witches to send curses upon him, (although none of them worked). No one was on his side but his servants (But, I must admit, he paid his "loyal" helpers very well).

Until, at least, according to legend, one All Hallows Eve night...

He disappeared.

His servants were at a complete loss for an explanation. They searched the entire castle, once, twice, with not a hair of his orange-turning-grey fur to show for it. Finally, a cat, the royal fire lighter, Infreno, came forward and claimed that he had witnessed their master in the dungeons, chanting a spell out of an ancient tome, with a glow of a lively yellow, wildly happy.

But something went wrong. The tome turned a vivid, bloody scarlet and exploded in their master's hands, leaving behind nothing but a pile of dust and an unearthly screech.

Infreno, of course, wasn't believed. A magic spell book? Preposterous, they thought. The other servants accused him of murdering their master and threatened to tie him up and throw him into the moat.

But before they could carry this out, they heard ghostly laughter coming from underneath their very feet and from the walls of the castle themselves. It was everywhere, insane, mocking, superior laughter, a bloodcurdling noise to all who heard it. A few of the more rational servants were driven insane by it as it rang in their ears, slowly driving them over the edge, trying to deny that the thing that was praying on their minds did not exist.

For some reason, they all stayed in the castle; they had to listen to the laughter every night. Perhaps they had nowhere to go, at least at first.

Whatever the case may be, eventually, on All Hallow's eve, one of the more foolhardy, but brave, servants, name of Sonik, (yes, spelled with a k.) went into the dungeon, hoping to figure out what was going on. He walked down the stairs to the last underground level, and saw a horrid, stitched up figure of a fox that moved as if possessed, head hanging down in a grisly fashion as if someone was moving it around by its neck like an invisible hand held a doll. It turned its head jerkily toward him and dashed toward Sonik in this horrific manner.

For a minute, Sonik couldn't move for terror. (He was not one easily scared. Not moving didn't agree with him either.) Then he ran back up the steps screaming, the baron chasing him. The stitched up figure stopped following once he was out of the dungeon. When the other servants tried to ask Sonik what happened, he wouldn't say, and kept looking nervously back over his shoulder.

This convinced all of the servants that something... _demonic_ was living (or not) in Cliffside castle. They all packed up and left as quickly as they could, going down to the village, where this legend spread. In the years that followed, the people living near the castle found that the Baron - If he can still be called that - had the power to turn people into monsters on All Hallows Eve. To this day, the creature is still there...

That was just some sort of a back-story. This is the real story. I just wanted to write this for Halloween. Well, here goes. Hm… I'll call it:

Sonic and the Horror of Halloween.

(Oooooh!)

"Are we there yet?"

Rouge and Amy had invited Sonic, Tails, and Shadow to their vacation home near Cliffside Castle for Halloween, and now they were riding on a very slow train and waiting for their stop. Sonic had complained again for the seventh time, and Shadow was way past annoyed.

"NO! We aren't there yet! Please stop asking!"

Sonic just grinned cockily. "Why should I, faker?"

Shadow's eye twitched. "BECAUSE I HAVE A 22 SHOTGUN, THAT'S WHY!"

"Sir, weapons are not allowed onboard the train." A convenient train employee said smugly. "FINALLY, I got to tell someone off! Now I'll get that pay rise! Uh huh, whoop, uh huh…"

The lynx danced triumphantly, chanting to himself, but then noticed the three passengers staring at him. "Um… I have to verify… some other passenger's… passport. Bye." He left, embarrassed.

"That was weird…a-anyways, our stop is almost here. What costumes are you guys buying when we get there?" Tails asked, staring after the creepy dancing lynx.

They both smiled secretively. "You'll see." They said at the same time. They looked at each other.

"You smiled, faker." Sonic said, grinning.

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Did not!"

"Did to!"

"Did not!"

"Slap fight!"

"You're on!"

Tails sighed and looked at the 2 idiots he traveled with, flailing their arms at each other, arguing like little kids. Lucky for his sanity, their stop was up soon.

At last, the train stopped and let them off. "Man, that train was cramped! I'm going for a run. See you guys later!" Sonic said. Then he ran off at top speed.

Tails stared after him. "Do you think he knows that that's the wrong way?"

Shadow shrugged. "No. Come on, let's go." Shadow continued walking purposely toward town.

He didn't care. Tails sighed again and followed.

"*Squee!* Hi Sonic! Hi, Shadow. Hi, Tails. Hi Sonic!" Amy energetically greeted the three visitors at her door. "Don't just stand there; come on, Halloween's tonight! We have to buy costumes and candy!" She forcibly grabbed all of their wrists and started to drag them to a nearby Halloween store.

"Amy is spastic again." Tails noted with a grin.

Sonic moaned. Now he wished he hadn't turned around and gone the "right" way. "Probably too much coffee with that mug she bought of me on EBay again." He said.

Shadow was dragged along silently, fuming.

Once inside, though, there was nothing to begrudge. The whole place was filled with costumes of nearly every kind, from high-priced but unique to cheap but clichéd, to the little accessories, from fake jewelry to swords to face paint. The decorations, the ones being sold and the ones purely for atmosphere, made the place seem like a huge, fun, haunted house. A fourth of the whole store was devoted to candy, and a fifth more was just for chocolate. It was a Halloween paradise.

The two hedgehogs and fox wasted no time in picking out costumes. Tails found a werefox suit (Amy had an angel outfit). Sonic and Shadow were each trying on their costumes in one of the many changing rooms. (Separate ones, of course.) They both came out triumphantly. "Well?" Shadow said, posing. "Who looks cooler?"" Sonic asked.

Amy and Tails snickered.

"You're both wearing the same Dracula costume!" Tails laughed, replying to their puzzled expressions.

"Faker!" They both yelled at the same time, and then glared at each other in an unofficial staring contest. They both blinked at the same time.

This repeated.

Again.

And again.

And again.

"Aw, what the heck, let's just wear the same costume this year." Sonic finally offered. Shadow blinked.

"Fine. But if anyone thinks that I'm you, even once…" He held up a well used but polished BB gun.

Sonic sweated a little. "Understood, Shadow; old buddy. Come on, we have candy to buy." He said, eyeing the deadly firearm.

They bought, after not-so-serious consideration (^^), seven bags of Tootsie Rolls, nine big bags of Skittles (Shadow loves his Skittles), and thirty-five big Hershey bars. And, of course, their costumes. The others managed to persuade Shadow not to steal his costume as he had done last year.

"You were banned from Wal-Mart last time, remember?" Amy reminded him.

Shadow heaved a sigh.

"How was I supposed to know that there was a no borrowing policy?"

"You call shooting the guy at the register and running off with a James Bond tuxedo _borrowing?_"

"I- I didn't kill him! Besides, James Bond tuxedo."

"Well…"

Sonic, Tails, Shadow, and Amy left the store and went to Amy's vacation home, where Rouge greeted them.

"Hey, boys. You're staying home with me, Ames…so what are you 3 being for Halloween?" She asked.

"Hello, Rouge." Shadow said, red in the cheeks.

Rouge had a way of speaking that was enough to make any male past puberty feel a little warm in the cheeks.

"I'm being a werefox, and Shadow and Sonic ended up with the same Dracula costume." Tails explained. He's only eight.

Rouge nodded and grinned. "I should have guessed. You guys better get your costumes on. I already see some trick-or-treaters out getting candy."

"What's the hurry? Its only 9:45." Shadow said dismissively, shrugging.

"Hey, look, the Rabbits next door are giving out Skittles!" Sonic noted, looking out the window and concealing a grin.

Shadow jogged upstairs to get his candy bag.

"That was easy." Tails said with a grin. Sonic smirked. The satisfied tricksters followed him up the steps.

Tails, Sonic and Shadow all put their costumes on and began trick-or-treating. The Rabbits were indeed giving out Skittles. Shadow ended up with a lot of them. They went to all the neighborhoods, hitting the houses on each, ending up with 3 trick-or-treat bags chock-full of candy each.

At 11:45, most of the other trick-or-treaters had looked at the time, alarmed, and had scurried back inside. Finally, at 11:55, the streets were completely empty. Only Tails, Sonic, and Shadow were left.

"Where did everybody go?" Tails asked, looking around, puzzled.

The other two shrugged. "Might as well go back to Amy's place and eat this candy." Sonic replied dismissively. They turned around and headed toward Amy's rented house.

*BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG*! The giant Big Ben-like clock announced that it was midnight.

"Ow!" Sonic and Shadow grabbed at their suddenly aching incisors.

"Argh!" Tails doubled over in pain.

"Tails! What's wrong, bud?" Sonic yelled worriedly, forgetting his suddenly aching fangs. Even Shadow, whose teeth hurt too, was concerned at Tail's hunched-over form.

Tail's fur was growing longer in a dark, yellowish-brown color. He grew claws, ripping his gloves to shreds. His shoes were also destroyed. Tails grew more stout and strong, with huge muscles. He growled menacingly, making the other two back off. His originally sky-blue eyes changed into a much deeper, unfeeling shade of dark blue.

Finally, he straightened up. "Awooooo!" He threw his head back and howled at the full moon, and then set his gaze hungrily on the other two, licking his lips.

"Ah!" They screamed, turned and ran; Tails right on their- uh, tails.

"Tails is a *pant* werefox? Why didn't you *pant* _say something?_" Shadow gasped, trying to keep out of reach of Tail's new claws; not even remembering his energy-saving hover-shoes, just running.

"I didn't know! This is the first time it's happened!" Sonic replied, much less winded, but also running for his life. (He was awfully used to high-speed chases.) Were-Tails took a swipe at Sonic's head but missed by a quill, growling his frustration.

They turned a corner into a dead end alley. Sonic skidded on his heels and Shadow…stopped, I guess. "We're *pant* finished." Shadow breathed, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"_Shhh! Maybe he won't find us if we're quiet_." Sonic whispered breathlessly, putting his damp hand on Shadow's mouth. They hid behind a dumpster in the alley and waited.

Miraculously, Were-Tails hadn't seen which way they had gone. He looked back and forth, growled, disappointed, and went off to look for different prey.

"That was way too close. Let's get going before Tails decides that he wants to eat us again." Sonic said. He was hurt that his old pal Tails forgot him and then tried to eat them. Still, it hadn't been his fault.

When the hapless duo passed under a streetlamp, Sonic noticed something.

"You still scared, Shadow? You're white as a sheet."

"What? No. What about you? You're pale too." Shadow said brusquely.

"Maybe Amy put vampire makeup stuff on us." Sonic said, a little nervously. He looked at Shadow's mouth. "Oh, by the way, nice fangs."

""Nice fangs?" What-?" Shadow felt his teeth with his tongue. His fangs..._they weren't plastic. _"Something very, very strange is going on here…" He muttered contemplatively.

"What do ya mean by that, Faker?" Sonic asked, revealing his own fangs.

Shadow looked around and spotted a mirror-like glass window in a store. "See for yourself." He said, pointing.

Sonic went over to the window. He recoiled instantly. "I- No reflection? This is batty!"

Right when he said "batty", there was a strange popping noise, and a blinding flash of light accompanied by a prickling sensation.

"You alright, Shadow?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," Shadow replied, "except I can't see anything."

"Me neither." *Bonk* "Ow!"

"Let me try something." Shadow instinctively squeaked loudly and got a feel for where stuff was. "Well, that worked. You try it."

Sonic did the same thing, and found what he'd hit. "Stupid lamppost." He turned toward Shadow apprehensively. "You know what this means?" He asked, trying to sound offhand, (it came out shaking slightly).

Shadow nodded, and then remembered Sonic couldn't really see him.

"We turned into vampires somehow and then into bats." He flapped his "arms" (actually wings) and rose into the air. Sonic took off too.

"Let's get back to Amy's house and figure out what to do. I thought I heard howling." Sonic said. The black bat pricked his ears up and then nodded.

The pair eventually found Amy's rented home, and then tried to open the door. Figuring out that they couldn't do that, they started tapping on the window and yelling.

"Amy! Wake up; it's us!" Sonic called loudly.

"Let us in!" Shadow shouted.

A light came on upstairs, and Amy came down the steps. "*Yawn*. Who's banging on the window at this time of night?" She said groggily, rubbing her eyes. She looked out the window.

"Hey, open the door!" Sonic shouted.

"Bats?" Amy said in disbelief. To her, they were just squeaking, not talking.

"Bats, you say?" Rouge said, coming downstairs, not tired at all. Amy nodded. Rouge took a closer look at the "bats", still tapping on the window. "That's funny. They kind of look like Sonic and Shadow. Might as well let 'em in, Ames." Amy opened the door, and the two flew inside.

"Thanks, Rouge." Sonic said gratefully. Rouge nodded and smiled. She could understand them since she was a bat too, and Mobians can understand their feral counterparts.

"No problem. By the way, where's Tails?" The two bats exchanged glances.

"He turned into a werefox, and is looking for someone to eat." Shadow spoke up.

Rouge blinked rapidly in disbelief. "You're kidding."

Sonic shook his head. "I'm afraid the faker meant it. Tails already tried to eat _us_."

Rouge stared.

"Hey! What are you three saying?" Amy asked Rouge impatiently. "All that I'm getting is squeaking."

Rouge chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Amy said dangerously, holding up her suddenly appearing Piko-Piko hammer.

"Oh, uh…nothing, Ames." Rouge said, sweating a little. "It seems that your buddy Tails turned into a real werefox and is…on the hunt. These two turned into vampires and then, accidently, of course, into bats."

Now it was Amy's turn to stare. "You're kidding."

Shadow shook his head. "No, really, we're serious." Sonic said beseechingly, trying to look cute.

Amy blinked and looked at him blankly.

Shadow rolled his eyes and elbowed Sonic. "She can't understand us,_ Idiot. _Ugh, I hate this. I want to be myself again!"

There was another pop accompanied with a flash of light, only this time the 2 felt a tickling sensation.

"What- Yes! I'm my way past cool self again! And you know what I'm saying! Oh, yea!" Sonic cheered, oblivious to Amy and Rouge's stares.

Shadow was looking himself over in wonder. This was magic…

Shadow right now is feeling the emotion like the one that you get when you wake up on Christmas morning and it's snowing outside. You can't help but gaze out the window, pressing your face against the glass to look at the snow falling, until you come to your senses, hurry to get a coat on and go out to play. Or when you turn the lights off to view a brightly lit Christmas tree or a flickering candle inside a Jack 'o lantern. It just feels like magic. Didn't the pumpkin smile and wink at you before it was blown out? Or was it only your imagination?

Sonic and Shadow, of course, have just had a taste of Halloween magic, a much, much more sinister brand of magic than the Christmas kind. The purpose of Christmas magic is to delight the senses, and make one feel young again, if only for a day. Halloween magic, alas, exists only to frighten and embarrass.

You may argue, "But there's candy! It can't be _all_ bad!" We get that only because Halloween is a day of play for the_ real_ ghosts and ghouls, the candy is compensation for going along with their fun. The other holidays have magic too, (You know; Cupid, Leprechauns? The_ Easter bunny_, for candy corn's sake! _Magic_.) But they're not important right now.

Back to Shadow…

_This really is magic._ Shadow thought. He shook himself mentally. _No, it's all just…strange._ Sonic had told him that there was no such thing as magic when he had been helping him understand what to do in public a few years back.

Shadow had naively declared openly that Santa Claus was real when Sonic took him aside and explained the whole 'no-magic' concept. He had since then learned not to challenge anything Sonic said. He was usually right. Even when he had said that polar bears had black skin, Shadow kept quiet. (It was true, anyway) _Can't Sonic be wrong, just this once? About magic that could… bring people to life?_

_Maria…?_

"What's she doing here?" Amy asked loudly, snapping Shadow out of his reverie.

Shadow shook his head to clear the mental fog angrily. He had been daydreaming. That had been a good daydream too, compared to some of his _other _fantasies…

"Who?" He asked blankly, getting his mind off his thoughts.

"Blaze." Sonic repeated. (Shadow didn't hear him the first time.)

There was indeed a black cat-like shape outside of the window, meowing and scratching at the door as cats do. _Wait, wait, Meowing and Scratching? That's normal for feral cats, but not Blaze._ Sonic thought.

What do you mean "What is Blaze doing here?" What's that, I didn't put her in earlier?

Oops. Here, let me explain…

That morning…

"When are we going to get there, Blaze?" Silver whined childishly.

"Silver, I told you 5 times, we're almost to Cliffside. Now _please_ stop complaining or no Tootsie Rolls when we get there." Blaze replied testily, glaring at him. Her nerves were already strained.

Silver fell silent. Almost.

"Ok. I'll be quiet as a mouse. You won't even know that I'm here."

"I'll believe that when I see it." Blaze muttered to herself. Silver heard.

"You mean when you hear it. No, you'll believe it when you don't hear it. Yeah, that's it; you'll believe it when you don't hear it." He offered innocently.

"_SILVER!"_ Blaze screamed, setting her head on fire.

"Sorry!" Silver squeaked, putting his hands on his mouth, looking at the pyro-kitty's flaming head.

He stayed quiet the rest of the way, wondering _why _in the world they were doing this again.

His thoughts strayed to the previous afternoon…

"Hey, I dare you 2 lovebirds to stay at Cliffside for Halloween." A random pig had challenged them while they were walking around their neighborhood, bored, and "innocent-even-though-I-just-set-someone's-house-on-fire". Blaze was being braver than Silver as usual, and had agreed.

"Sure. What's the catch?" She had asked eagerly, ignoring "lovebirds" and Silver's hissed "No! No!" completely.

"Catch? Oh, it's only the most haunted place on Mobius." The pig had said, smirking. "If you can somehow manage to do it, you get 50 bucks. If you run off scared before then, you pay up. Got it?"

Blaze had nodded.

"Do-do we have to, Blaze?" He had asked, stammering, again the fraidy-cat. The pig had sneered at him.

"Yeah, you "have to." Unless you'd rather pay now and save yourself the trouble."

Silver had clenched his fists and glared at the pig, only getting a laugh. He waved his hand, which started glowing green-blue, and lifted him into the air a few feet.

"Ahh! Hey, put me down!" The pig had screamed, upside-down, sounding remarkably like a girl. Silver and Blaze snickered, and then the former let him down. The pig glared at them, but before he could speak, Blaze cut him off.

"We'll do it. When does the train to Cliffside leave?"

_We packed our bags, and__** now**__, we're riding on this really slow train, for a __**dare**__. We don't even have enough to pay that guy if we lose. I want to do something about it, but…I can't. Not in front of Blaze, _Silver thought. _It's not that I'm scared, I just don't want to upset her,_ He assured himself, looking at Blaze.

_Even when Blaze is ticked off, she's cute. Gorgeous golden eyes…soft, silky, lavender fur …Wow…_

He continued to stare, a love-struck smile on his face, sighing in a longing sort of way. You could practically see_ hearts_ floating above his head, and hear somebody- Cupid, maybe- sniggering at him.

"We're finally here, Silver, come on!"

"Huh? What?" The little hearts popped. "Oh, right. I'm coming." Silver replied. He picked up his two suitcases and followed Blaze, who had 3 bags, out of the station. _I'll tell her later;_ Silver promised himself.

_Later._

"This is an awesome house, Blaze. But how did you ever afford it? We couldn't have had enough money." Silver and Blaze had just now arrived at their vacation home that Blaze had rented in advance on the internet.

It was a cushy place, 2-story, and undoubtedly expensive, even including a hot tub in the back.

"I didn't have to pay." Blaze replied smugly.

"Why not?" Silver asked in bewilderment.

Blaze held up a fiery fist. "Does _this _answer your question?" She asked, smirking faintly.

It had been easy to threaten the stingy manager with burning down the place. The bear, having no foresight at all, had put all of his money into these rental homes, and couldn't afford to lose even one since he didn't have any dough left for insurance.

Silver sweated a little and shook slightly. For all his liking for Blaze, he never could get used to fire coming out of her. He was scared of it. And now she was shoving it in his face…

"Y-yeah." Silver replied quickly, backing off. "It d-does. Let's get unpacked. Tonight is, um, H-H-Halloween."

He quickly turned and scampered upstairs into his bedroom, not seeing Blaze's concerned expression.

_What's wrong with Silver?_ Blaze wondered. _He looked almost scared of me. _Worried, she decided to follow Silver upstairs.

"Silver, are-" Blaze stopped in mid-sentence. She was going to ask if he was ok, but decided against it. He might think he was being babied.

"Yes, Blaze?" Silver asked, turning to face her. He was in the middle of unpacking.

She thought a second.

"Do you want to go to the Halloween store? We need to buy candy and my costume."

Silver nodded readily. He wanted a distraction. "Can we get Tootsie Rolls?" He asked eagerly, forcing a childish grin. Let her think him naïve.

Blaze rolled her eyes, but also smiled a little.

"Alright, we can get Tootsie Rolls. But only because you like them so much." Blaze answered, still smiling.

Silver's grin was genuine this time. "Thanks, Blaze. I appreciate it."

He did have _some_ intelligence.

They left for the Halloween store soon afterwards at 5 o'clock. They didn't stay very long. Blaze just picked up a black cat costume; Silver bought 15 bags of Tootsie Rolls and 6 bags of Nerds for him to eat or give out. They left the store at 5:30 and started to walk back, uh, "home".

Blaze knew why Silver didn't buy a costume. He always gave out candy, and, besides, he didn't ever know what he wanted to be anyway. Silver liked little kids, and was actually very good with them.

_I guess that's one reason I like him. _Blaze thought. She shook her head a little at the idea. _Whom am I kidding? Silver doesn't like me…that much. _Then she felt a twinge of guilt.

_I push him around too much; I need to change that. I'm not his mother; I shouldn't scold him so much. What else am I doing wrong? _Blaze became lost in thought; still walking but not really registering what was in front of her.

Silver hadn't noticed. He had opened one of the Tootsie Roll bags and was now happily devouring them. "Mmmm…Hey, Bwaze; wan' one?" Silver asked; his mouth gummed up with Tootsie Rolls.

She didn't turn; just kept walking.

"Bwaze?" He asked again, louder.

Blaze stopped with a start. "Sorry, I was… thinking. What did you say?" She asked him politely.

Silver held out the Tootsie Roll bag. "Wan' some?"

Blaze nodded and took two of them. "Thank you." She said courteously. She put them in her mouth, then turned and walked the remaining 5 feet into the rental house, chewing.

Silver smiled a gooey smile, (Love gooey and Tootsie Roll gooey) and then followed Blaze inside, popping a Tootsie Roll into his mouth as he went.

Blaze changed into her costume in her bedroom while Silver sat on the bed in his bedroom, starting on and eating another entire bag of Tootsie Rolls.

He had just begun on the third bag, (admittedly feeling a little green about the gills,) when Blaze came into his room wearing her costume. "Well? Do you like it?" She asked; posing with her "claws" extended.

The black cat costume consisted of a black, skin-tight body suit (no tail or ears because Mobians already have those) and black gloves with fake claws attached.

"Wow…You look great, Blaze." Silver said, heat rising in his cheeks. Blaze smiled, but then spotted the two empty Tootsie Roll bags in the trashcan by his bed with hawk eyes. "Silver, how many Tootsie Rolls did you eat? Maybe you should stay in bed." She said in alarm. Silver squirmed and winced.

"Um… Just a few. I don't feel sick or anything." He answered firmly (and somewhat panicky. He _was_ lying.)

Blaze appeared taken in. "Alright, if you really feel okay… But _please _try not to eat too many more. You were sick last year." She admonished.

"Don' vorry, Bwaze," for he had popped a few more Tootsie Rolls into his mouth, "I wobe fine." Silver assured her; oblivious to the Tootsie Roll stuck to his muzzle.

Blaze managed to conceal her amused grin by checking her watch. It was already 8.

"Hm, time's flown. I'm going trick-or-treating; Silver, ok? I'll see you later." She said in the bedroom doorway.

"Ok, Bwaze. Bye! (Yum) Get wots of candy." Silver replied. He tried to throw a Tootsie Roll into his mouth, but it missed and landed on his fan-quills. He reached up and began to try to pull it off, progressively becoming more covered in Tootsie goo.

Blaze had to laugh at the sight of Silver all sticky before going down the stairs and leaving. She started with the house next door, than the next, and the next, hitting every house on the block, getting a few pieces of candy each time.

Meanwhile, Silver contentedly chewed Tootsie Rolls, waiting for someone to come.

He got through the 6th bag at 11 o'clock and still no one. By then he was exhausted, and the uncomfortable stomachache and queasy sensation had increased by a _lot._

Silver moaned, curled up on his bed.

_Blaze was right; I should have stopped eating them. But they're so good… Just one more?_ Silver thought.

Just then, an unexpected, horrible nauseous feeling overtook him. Silver bolted upright and threw up half-digested brown gunk into the trashcan by his bed. He lay back down with a moan.

_Never mind. I'll just rest…_

He closed his eyes.

*Ding, dong*

His eyes snapped back open. "Ohhh… _Now?_ *sigh* Coming!" Silver said, irritated, mostly to him and a little to whoever was at the door.

Silver went sleepily downstairs, staggering like a zombie, feeling like he might throw up again, and opened the door, putting on a brave (and hopefully awake) face.

There didn't seem to be anyone there-

"_**Trick or Treat!"**_

"Ah!" Silver screamed in surprise.

A blue hedgehog in a vampire costume was snickering like crazy, making his plastic fangs fall out.

"We- Ha, ha! -got you!" A yellow fox in a werefox suit said, trying not to laugh so hard.

Silver hyperventilated a few seconds, clutching his heart, and then managed to calm down, even more tired than before.

"What'd you give me a heart attack for? *yawn*. You woke me up. Well…I'll get the candy."

As he went in the kitchen, he heard a lower, male voice saying, "I'm surprised this guy is giving us candy at all. The last time you tried that, the old lady at the door hit you both over the head with a broom." The mystery man sounded like he wished the other two hadn't done it, but that it had been pretty funny when they had.

Silver came back with the big bowl of Nerds and Tootsie Rolls. "Here you go. I don't think anyone else is going to come, so take what you want."

He then noticed the third person: A black hedgehog with red streaks, also in a vampire get-up. It fitted on him better than the blue hedgehog. The blue one just seemed like a little kid wearing a vampire costume; the black one looked like, at any moment, he would speak in a Transylvanian accent and reveal actual fangs.

The three all took a few handfuls of candy each, and the blue hedgehog and yellow fox quickly ran off after a hurried "Thanks!" The black hedgehog shook his head in slight annoyance and started after them, leisurely walking toward the next house.

Silver's composure finally broke down. A slight moan escaped his lips and his knees buckled. His stomach was still churning and he was exhausted from keeping himself up so late and from being scared out of his skin. He just lay there a few seconds, prostrate on the front porch, and then, decided just to sleep right there. Silver had just closed his eyes when something touched his shoulder. He gasped and started.

"Hey, kid. Are you, er, ok?" The deep voice asked awkwardly, as though he wasn't used to asking it. Silver rolled over toward it.

It was the black hedgehog. He must have heard him moan or seen his collapse. "You look ill."

"I'm fine; I just had too much candy." Silver yawned from the ground, trying, (and failing) not to look sleepy or sick. The black hedgehog was not fooled.

"That's happened to me before. Not fun. Look, I'm just trying to help. You don't look like you can even stand up." He held out a hand, half looking the other way as if self-conscious for some reason. Silver took his hand and laboriously stood up, leaning against the doorframe.

"Thanks. I-I'm *yawn* Silver." He introduced sleepily. The black hedgehog nodded.

"I'm Shadow. Shadow the hedgehog." Shadow (James Bond) said. "Go get some rest; I have to catch up with Sonic and Tails." Shadow turned and quickly glided away. Silver watched the fiery flashes coming out of his shoes in fascination, fondly thinking of Blaze, and then went inside with a yawn.

He trudged upstairs, collapsed gratefully on his bed, and fell asleep before his head even touched the pillow.

At the same time, Blaze was walking around, finishing off her trick-or-treating, and thinking about Silver.

_Silver probably went and gorged himself with Tootsie Rolls, despite my warning. He never could keep his hands off of them._

In spite of the late hour, Blaze was wide-awake. Cats were nocturnal, and, besides, she never had needed much sleep. Regular cats slept all the time; Blaze was an insomniac. _Odd, perhaps, but it's sometimes useful. If I have to stay awake and care for Silver, I can and I do._

She blinked. _Whatever made me think of __**that **__example? _She let that roll around in her brain for a minute.

_He __**does**__ get sick a lot. Silver's always catching colds, the flu, or some bug that's going around; it usually lasts just a day, while sometimes it lasts so long, he has to stay in bed for a week. Then he looks-_

Something clicked in Blaze's brain. _He looks… guilty, as if he wishes he weren't sick so he wouldn't be causing me any trouble. Or am I just kidding myself? _Blaze shook her head. _I'm kidding myself. Silver can't care that much for me. We're friends in his eyes. Just friends…_

She wasn't paying attention to her surroundings and almost rammed into somebody.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" The ferret yelled at her, running right past without turning. "Don't you know? You have to be inside by midnight, kitty!" He scurried all the way down the street, and then went left, running out of Blaze's line of sight.

"That was strange…and sort of rude." She thought out loud after a short silence. She looked at her watch, which read 11:57. _Time is making a fool of me again. _She shook her head._ I should get back. It's late, and Silver might be worried. Silver… Why do my thoughts always come back to him? Why? Well… It's not important why._

She turned around and began to walk back up the street, headed toward her rented house.

*BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG, BONG!*

A howl came from the other end of town.

Blaze suddenly felt sneakier and more- catlike, almost. "We may be unlucky," She hissed, soft and silky, "But we have our own holiday. Beat that, tabbies." She chuckled, almost malevolently.

Then Blaze (Must I still call her that? She isn't herself anymore…but I have no other name) looked at her nearly full trick-or-treat bag, and then recalled something. "It seems that I have somewhere to go. Well, let's see where fortune takes me." She meowed, dropped down on all fours, and then took off, heading to a nearby rental house.

Blaze began to meow and scratch on the door as was habitual of her race. The people inside stirred, and looked curiously out the window at her. There was a pink girl hedgehog, a white girl bat, a glassy-eyed black male hedgehog, and a blue male hedgehog that looked oddly familiar. Blaze cocked her head.

Familiar or not, this was not her home. _Where is it then? Who is my master? Is my master…Silver? _She automatically thought of that name. _Who is that? I must find out. _She hissed and left, heading toward the next houses.

Inside of Amy's house…

Amy looked out the window of her living room. "I think she left." She said, still looking puzzled.

"Blaze must have been affected the same way we were, huh, Shad?"

No answer.

"Um, Shadow?"

Shadow was hungrily eyeing Rouge's neck, as if in a trance. "Mm…delicious…"

"SHADOW!" Sonic yelled.

Shadow stopped with a start and blinked a few times. "What?" He asked innocently.

Sonic looked panicky (which hardly ever happens); Amy also looked scared; and Rouge was feeling her neck and backing away.

Rouge spoke up. "My blood doesn't taste good, handsome. I don't suggest you try it."

"What?" Shadow just looked baffled. Then his expression became blank and his eyes turned glassy and unseeing, never blinking.

"I am Dracula, a vampire; and vampires drink blood. And you know what? I'm thirsty." He said, soft and slithery, again in a trance, walking toward them slowly. The others backed off nervously. He blindly dove for them. Amy and Rouge dodged him and ran outside. Sonic attempted to follow but tripped.

Before he could scramble away, Shadow grabbed his arm and held it in an iron grip with undead strength. "Your blood will do, at least; for now." He said to the struggling blue hedgehog.

Shadow held Sonic up by one hand in a chokehold, then drew close, tore open his neck with his right fang, and began delicately lapping up the coppery-tasting blood, occasionally sucking on the wound. He drank the blood from the blue hedgehog quickly and easily. In a few short minutes, Shadow could feel Sonic's movement gradually decreasing; becoming weaker.

"Let me…go…" He murmured, still struggling, albeit weakly. Shadow paid him little attention. _But he has a point; very little blood is left in him… Another would be better. _The vampire dropped him unceremoniously on the floor, and then went out the back door, to hunt fresher blood.

Meanwhile, Rouge and Amy were still flying/running away. "Do you hear him following us?" Amy asked.

"I don't think so." Rouge answered. They turned around. Shadow was nowhere in sight.

"I think we can go back now." Amy said.

They began walking back.

"Oh, but where's Sonic?" Amy asked worriedly, looking around.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Ames. He probably just ran in another direction." Rouge assured her blithely.

They made it to the house and, caution weighing on their minds, looked around carefully before going in. They didn't see any bloodthirsty vampires, so they went in; Rouge first.

"Hey…help… Amy? Please?" Someone asked weakly from the floor. Amy rushed over, recognizing the voice, and saw Sonic crumpled on the ground.

"Sonic! What's wrong?" Amy asked him worriedly, seeing his almost colorless face and the small gash on his neck.

"Shadow…drank my…my blood…" He answered weakly. Rouge approached and looked Sonic over.

"If he'd had taken any more of it, you'd probably be dead." She said, alarmed for once.

Sonic closed his eyes a second, then half-opened them again. "I have to…stop him… He doesn't know…what he's doing…" He murmured half to himself. Sonic attempted to stand, but collapsed.

"Now, now, Sonic, don't strain yourself." Amy warned. He smiled weakly.

"Your fangs are gone. Shadow must've cured you somehow." Rouge noted, looking at Sonic's teeth.

"Quite a…price to pay…for that… Can you…help me…?" He laboriously held up a hand. Amy took it and pulled him into a standing position. Exhausted, Sonic had to lean on her. "Sorry." He breathed tiredly.

"That's all right." Amy replied eagerly.

"We have to bring Sonic to a hospital." Rouge told Amy.

"No…" He protested feebly. "Tails and…Shadow… You'll need…all the…help…you can…get…" Sonic forcibly left Amy's arms and then fainted, again crumpling on the floor. "Sonic!" Amy cried out. She tenderly scooped him back up in her arms.

"Put him in a bed upstairs. He can't be sent anywhere else like this." Rouge ordered. Amy nodded and quickly began to bring Sonic up the stairs.

Rouge stared at the bookcase in a bored fashion, waiting for Amy to come back, and then noticed something. _That's funny; I don't remember that book. I wonder if Amy bought it. _She read the title, A History of Cliffside, and pulled the thick leather-bound book off the shelf.

Table of contents:

Living and Housing- 1-15

Attractions- 16-24

Landmarks- 25-32

Economy- 33-45

Unexplained Occurrences- 46-101

Index- 102-132

""Unexplained Occurrences" Hm. Perhaps something in that'll clear this up."She turned to page 46, flipped through a large number of "Eyewitness Accounts", and then began to read the passage aloud.

"Cliffside is a peaceful place throughout most of the year; but once every year on Halloween, it is haunted by a 19th century ghost, a fox baron who, according to legend, meddled with immortality magic in an ancient book called The Tome Malefic. He is no average poltergeist.

"As punishment for messing with the forbidden art, he was turned to ashes, but his soul was bound to Earth in a horrific, stitched-up figure. In his anger, he turns everyone still out on midnight on Halloween fully into what he/she is imitating, changing his or her appearance and personality completely.

"But to atone for his great sin and go on to the afterlife, he must release the power of a singular black and orange crystal to a hundred people. The "Halloween Crystal", as it has been named, is inside the baron's castle. The gem is supposed to change the people he turned into monsters back into their normal selves and repair any damage they might have done. If they are not changed back before sunrise, they remain that way forever. So far, the number of people restored is guessed to be about 97- funny, the 97 is hand written- including the reputable Dr. Rose, who has written a book about her experiences.

"With all of these reliable and justified accounts, no one can put it all down as wild imagination."

The passage ended, going to pictures.

"Dr. Rose?" Amy suddenly asked. Rouge jumped slightly.

"Yeah; maybe she's one of your ancestors, Ames."

Amy waved that aside. "Forget about that, it said how we can turn everyone back to normal! C'mon, we have to go to that castle!" Amy yelled eagerly.

Rouge held up one hand and put the other on her hips. "Hold it, Ames, "we?" Sorry, but you're staying here. Somebody'sgot to stay and guard Sleeping Beauty; and it's _not_ going to be me." Before Amy could swing a hammer in protest, Rouge had already flown out the door.

"Hey! Humph. Oh, well, at least I have Sonic to myself now." She giggled at the thought, and then went upstairs. Nothing left for her to do except comb Sonic's quills.

Rouge flew silently toward the castle, only making faint sounds when she flapped her wings. She slowly breathed in the cool evening air, and then exhaled satisfyingly. She flew slower, taking it all in. She looked at the time on the huge clock. 1:14. _No hurry, there's time to stop __**once **__before saving the others._

Ah…the nightlife.

Blaze had finally found the correct house out of hundreds, even though she did not know it yet. "Well, let's try my luck here." She told leapt up and hit the doorbell several times, (Still on four feet) and then a light came on inside.

Silver was sleeping.

*Bing, Bong*

"Wha…?" He lifted his head, but then shrugged the noise off and lay down again.

*Bing, bong* He opened his eyes, then closed them again, slightly irritated.

*Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing, Bing*

"**I'm coming!** _What would a sane person want this late at night?_" Silver yelled/muttered. At least he was feeling better now. He turned on a lamp so he could see, and then went downstairs, rubbing his eyes. He opened the door, expecting to see very late trick-or-treaters, or perhaps a ding-dong ditcher.

Instead, Blaze was on four feet on the porch, wagging her tail and acting like a complete other cat.

Now completely awake, Silver stood in the doorway and _stared._

_Blaze must have gone to a late-night party._

Silver quickly expelled the notion as ridiculous. _No, she wouldn't have without saying something in advance. What's going on?_

"Glad to see you're back, Blaze." He had to force out the greeting. She gave him an almost understanding look, but instantly her face became blank and sly again.

Blaze is not Blaze- although, *sigh* I must call her that- she is entirely a black cat. None of her psyche is left, none, except for a hazy memory. Thereupon is a flaw in the Baron's curse. This special memory is the only way she, or anyone else also affected with his or her recollection, can regain free will, though an emotional shock or pain will also free someone. Seeing her best friend was not enough, but his love of her… Yes, that might eventually do the trick. Let me continue where I left off, but let's use Blaze's point of view.

Yes…

Continue.

Blaze slunk into the house at the (her master's?) invitation. She looked up at the silvery hedgehog. _Silvery…Silver! _Her face lit up._ This is Silver, my- friend? _The moment faded. _He may be my warlock master. My friend? I think not. _She leapt upon and curled up on the sofa for a catnap, purring contentedly.

"Hey, uh, Blaze?" Silver asked tentatively. _That must be my name._ She opened one eye for an answer. "Are you feeling ok?" He asked, again timidly.

Blaze- she is _not _Blaze. Must I call her that? - considered ignoring him, like all of her race would do, but then noticed his fearful, concerned expression. Then a strange recollection came forward.

She was lying on a bed, apparently ill, and Silver was bringing her a drink and a bottle of some sort, probably medicine. He looked like he…really cared about her.

_That-that was the day that I was sick instead of Silver! Silver isn't my master! He's my friend! _

Blaze suffered a brief but sharp headache, and then, her memories and ways all came back. She stood up (on two feet). "Hi, Silver." She said, flashing him a small smile. She looked around in surprise. "How did I get back here? I was trick-or-treating… What happened?" Blaze asked him in bewilderment.

Silver felt like kissing her. He restrained himself, however, and instead answered her question. "You were acting like a feral cat, on four feet and everything, and then you suddenly became yourself again. I don't know _what_ was going on."

Blaze's eyes widened. "I- don't remember any of that." Blaze, although her composure was mostly calm, was visibly shaking. "I want out of this now. Can you undo the zipper in the back of my costume, Silver?" She asked him, again tensely.

He nodded and walked behind her. He held up his hands in a position as to undo the zipper, but then stopped in confusion.

"Uh, Blaze?"

"What?" She sounded annoyed.

Silver stopped a moment, (Would _you_ like to get on the nerves of somebody who could burn you to a crisp?) then answered, slowly, hesitatingly,

"There- _is _no zipper. I-it's not… it's _you._"

Deep inside the dungeons of his castle, the dead baron chuckled to himself mirthlessly. He had two victims this year. Three was the number he needed. But if they didn't see the book…He would not get freedom for another long, oh so long, year. Must cruel fate torture him so; hang him tantalizingly on a string?

He frowned. He had been most displeased when he had been cheated out of 2 victims. One broke away from his control, (a walking marionette, with my threads of control cut, he mused) and another was accidentally cured of vampirism before he could use him. A wild grin flashed on his face. No matter. He could still use the one who had broken away.

_Speaking of vampires, I must send orders to my Dracula. The werefox…? No, fine for now. Doing what he needs to be doing. _The baron closed his eyes and concentrated, sending his own thoughts to his vampire "puppet" (As he called them in his demented, stitched-up little head).

The black gem of Halloween glowed orange on a pedestal behind him.

Shadow was frustrated. He had walked all over town, making him extremely thirsty, but there wasn't a soul out that night, and no lights were on in any houses. That blue hedgehog's blood, as satisfying as it had been an hour ago, now seemed like yesterday. "I must have more." He muttered to himself.

_And you shall have more. _

Not his own thoughts… Master. "Oh, my lord; finally you call. Where can I find more?" Shadow asked aloud, eager. He did not know who his lord and master was, but, under his complete control, did not doubt him.

_Have patience, my Dracula, patience._He sounded amused._You can find a meal in one of the west houses; there, a young woman resides, awake, and unguarded. Women's blood is __sweet__ and__warm__…I trust that you will find her._

Shadow nodded. "I will, Master." His mouth was watering in anticipation of this feast. Still, there was something nagging at him in the back of his mind, telling him that this wasn't right; this wasn't how he was.

_It may be wrong, but it is…unavoidable. I must have blood. _"The west, he said." Shadow muttered to himself, dismissing the thought. He turned westward toward black-windowed houses, looked carefully, and spotted one that had a light on inside. Shadow grinned and chuckled to himself. Then he took off, exhilarated, leaving nothing behind him but scorch marks, going the ever faster for thirst.

That girl was practically in his grasp.

Amy had just finished reading the old book Rouge had been studying before. Relaxing in her pink armchair, she wondered where the mysterious history had come from. She hadn't bought it. _I guess Rouge did._ She stood up and put the book back on the shelf. It had been extremely interesting. The book even showed pictures of some of the people affected. There was no doubt in her mind that this was real. "I hope Rouge gets back soon…" Amy said to nobody in particular.

*Knock, knock* "Oh!" Amy jumped up from her armchair and opened the door to what looked like a hooded stranger wearing a black coat.

"Hello." Shadow said, disguising his voice to a higher pitch, making it unrecognizable, covering his newly found Transylvanian accent. "Can I… come in?" He made a show of looking over his shoulder. "Please, Miss? I just lost something that was pursuing me." He tried not to chuckle at his play-acting.

The girl looked out on the street nervously. "Sure, I'll hide you. Get in before whatever it was comes back."

Shadow walked inside, smirking under his hood. (He had "borrowed" a black cloak from a nearly empty store, making sure it was long enough to cover his tell-tale shoes and the cuffs of his gloves.) _This is going to be almost too easy. _He thought, hiding a grin.

His recollections of an angry, hammer-toting Amy were gone, along with memories of everyone else.

Shadow sat in the comfortable cherry-red armchair, and his prey sat in the pink one. "Tell me; what's your name, miss?" He asked curiously.

_I want to know what to call you when you're like me._

She smiled and answered, "Amy Rose. What's your name?"

Shadow thought a moment. "I'm…Ivan; Ivan the hedgehog." Shadow (James Bond) answered, saying the first name he could think up. "Forgive me; I take quite some pleasure in watching James Bond movies." _Where in Transylvania did __**that**__ come from?_

Amy giggled.

"Funny, a friend of ours does too, but he's…not here. He was turned into a vampire." Her expression clouded.

"I am sorry to have brought it up, then, Miss Rose." Shadow said, faking regret. He decided to change the subject, keep her talking; earn her trust.

"Is there anyone else here? I would be quite surprised if a girl like _you_ had no company." He asked in a flattering tone. As he expected, Amy's stormy expression faded; she giggled and blushed.

"Sonic is upstairs, but he's asleep."

_Can't satisfy myself here. This "Sonic" would come immediately if she screamed. I must lure her outside. _Shadow came up with another plan on the spot.

"By the way, have you seen my little sister…Mary? We were separated when a strange thing charged at us and began to chase me." He asked, faking anxiety.

Amy began to worry too, if her face was anything to go by. "No, I haven't. Sorry."

Shadow pretended to be alarmed. "Can you help me find her? Please? I can't lose her. She'll be scared all alone out there in the dark." He had to restrain a chuckle at his flawless acting, his clever choice of words.

As he thought, Amy agreed. "Of course, Ivan, I'll help you."

"Oh, thank you, Miss Rose." He replied, shamming gratitude. He grinned underneath the hood. _You'll be like me soon, my dear. Soon. _

They went outside and started walking, Amy staring curiously at Shadow's hood. "It's not that cold. What's with the coat, and why are you keeping the hood up? It's hiding your face."

"_I'm chilly, alright?_" He answered hastily, nearly letting his fake voice slip. He wildly panicked inwardly but quietly reassured himself. It was deep and cold for but a second.

Amy said nothing else about the hood, still slightly surprised by the change in "Ivan's" tone.

_Now! _Shadow grabbed Amy by the waist and mouth and flung her into a nearby alley.

"_Hey,_ _what-?_"

"_**Quiet."**_ He held his hand over her mouth. Then he peeked out as if he has seen something. "Good, it's gone. I…_apologize;_ I thought I saw the creature."

Amy was about to say that it was ok, but then noticed that Ivan's hood had slipped. His face looked an awful lot like… Oh, no.

"Shadow!" Amy screamed.

He tore off the coat and grimaced. "Drat! I hoped to reveal myself later. Ah, well…We could use you on our side." He smirked, showing one of his long fangs, speaking in a Transylvanian accent. Amy thought she knew exactly what he meant, and started running down the dismal street. Shadow was much faster and caught up quickly.

Amy hurriedly pulled out her hammer and swung backwards- hard- in mid-run. "Oof!" She hit Shadow hard in the chest, knocking him back 5 feet, and giving herself a good head start. He was breathless for a moment but recovered quickly.

"That's what I get for picking on a girl," he chided himself after he'd caught his breath, amused. Shadow stood up and dashed after Amy again, this time staying at a safe distance. He would simply wait until she grew tired, then come in for the kill.

For now, the chase was on.

Suddenly, something brownish-yellow jumped between him and his prey. The thing growled and went directly after Amy, but only got a hit on the head for his pains. _That has to hurt._ Shadow thought, smirking. He sped up behind the monster, and saw that it was a brownish werefox. "That is _my_ dinner you're going after, fluffy. She's _mine_."

It turned its face toward him, showing very dark blue eyes, and threw an easily dodged punch, starting the fight.

The werefox and Shadow exchanged blows; punching, kicking, dodging, each receiving the same amount of punishment as the other. Amy backed off a few feet, and would have run away, but the sight of the battle transfixed her; held her to the spot. It was like a grisly but mesmerizing sort of dance.

Then the werefox did a clumsy trip-kick, which Shadow jumped over easily to avoid, but the werefox smashed him down with both fists on his head. The ground broke beneath him; the blow was that strong.

Shadow lay there in the cracked sidewalk concrete, his eyes closed, moaning quietly. The werefox opened his jaws and licked his lips. "Oh, no, you don't! Haah!" Amy ran up to the werefox and pummeled it repeatedly, yelling all the while. Eventually it figured that this meal wasn't worth it and ran off, its tails (tails?) between its legs, whimpering like a dog. It turned a corner and vanished from view.

_Nobody deserves to be eaten. Still… Do I know that thing? _Amy thought, staring after the strangely familiar werefox.

Shadow stirred, and then slowly opened his eyes. "What's going on?" He asked himself (As if he knew).

Amy turned toward him. "You should know." She answered guardedly.

He stood up, grimaced at the sharp pain in his head, and replied, "I was in your house, now I'm here. _What happened?_" He really didn't know. The glassiness of his eyes was gone. He blinked.

Amy decided to believe Shadow and told him everything that happened. He showed no emotion during the whole retelling, until she got to the part where he drank Sonic's blood, making him weak.

"I did _what?_"Shadow's mask of a face didn't show it, but he was shocked. No matter what he had said to Sonic, or how many times he threatened him, he had always grudgingly respected Sonic. The blue hedgehog was invincible, it seemed; he was an unstoppable force of good.

Brought down by a vampire's bite.

"I couldn't have done…_that_ to him…" Shadow murmured.

Amy had been taken by surprise with his reaction, expecting him merely to shrug. "I thought you hated him." She stated, confused.

Shadow ignored her. He instead got his bearings and walked toward Amy's house, which wasn't far. Amy followed, still confused as to what just happened. _Was it just me, or was Shadow actually… sorry? Weird._

The pair arrived at Amy's house, where a surprise awaited them.

Sonic had somehow gotten downstairs and was lounging on the cherry-red armchair. Some of the color had returned to his muzzle. Amy went right toward him and started talking, but Shadow stayed at the front door, looking the other direction. He couldn't face Sonic.

"I told you, Amy, I'm _fine._"

"You sure, Sonic?"

"*chuckle*. As sure as I'm the fastest thing alive. By the way, where's Rouge?"

"Oh, she went to get the Halloween gem."

"The what?"

Amy explained what she had read in the book.

"So we get the gem thing out of that castle and turn everybody back to normal." He summed up. "Easy."

Sonic finally noticed Shadow in the back of the room. "Hey, skulkie. Come for more blood?" He asked playfully.

Shadow winced inwardly. _I deserve that. _He thought guiltily. "No." He managed to answer, shrugging, still not able to look at Sonic, gazing at the floor.

Sonic was not surprised by Shadow's reaction. He knew him pretty well. (Or, at least, _thought_ he did.) If he badgered Shadow enough, he'd get mad like usual and threaten him with an assault rifle. Or BB gun. Or 22 shotgun. Whichever he thought of first. The thought made Sonic grin (For, you see, Shadow never actually hurt him).

That is Sonic's version of fun, something he does when he's bored- and that's anytime he isn't running around like a maniac. To Sonic, it was great amusement to drive his friends (or otherwise) up the wall _and_ the ceiling. Of course, his friendsunderstood that he was just joking. What Sonic _didn't _know was that that didn't include Shadow, I'm sorry to say.

"Oh, right, I forgot, you're the faker. Faker vampires drink fake blood." He quipped, grinning.

Shadow said nothing.

Then he spoke up, ignoring Sonic completely. "Shouldn't we be looking for the…Halloween gem-thing, instead of doing nothing?"

"I told you, Rouge is getting it." Amy explained, slightly irritated.

Shadow looked out the window at the clock outside. "Its 4:02. You said she left 3 hours ago. It shouldn't take anybody who can fly that long. If I know Rouge, she's stolen it; or stopped at a few-_what does she call them_- …nightclubs."

Amy face-palmed. "Do'h. Well, then, we'll go get the gem of Halloween!" She declared.

Shadow nodded.

"Ok." Sonic agreed, doing his signature thumbs up and wink. He got up quickly, but stopped suddenly. The color drained from his muzzle and he swayed, but steadied himself, making his color return. Amy was right by his side.

"Sorry; I'm still a little…shaky." Sonic said apologetically to Amy. He sneaked a glance at Shadow, grinning, certain that Shadow was sporting a smirk of his own.

Shadow was certainly not in the mood to smile. He was torn between rushing toward Sonic to help him and dashing out the door in guilt. He couldn't decide which, so remained in one place, his muscles tense, his brow wet with sweat. Shadow had no idea what Sonic was smiling about. His smirk seemed to tease him.

The atmosphere turned thicker than cold custard (Whatever custard is).

Sonic's grin was immediately wiped off.

Shadow looked away.

Amy had no idea what was going on.

"Can we, uh, leave now?" She asked, breaking the tense silence. The other two looked at her in surprise.

Shadow nodded again.

"Sure. Much better then sticking around here." Sonic agreed, again with his trademark grin.

All three of them went outside, heading toward the castle.

Meanwhile, Silver and Blaze had left their house. Blaze had insisted that the costume shop had tricked her somehow, and they were going there to get a refund. Silver thought that that was kind of farfetched, but then again, it was a more logical explanation than the costume becoming her skin. So he said nothing.

"_Awooooo!"_

Silver yelped, jumped, and bumped into Blaze's back.

"Oof!" She spun around. "Silver, be quiet! Do you want to wake everyone from here to Kansas?" She hissed at him fiercely. Her nerves were strained already from the costume thing. Blaze lit her hands up in the hottest of blue fire. Silver could feel its intense heat from 2 feet away.

Silver, scared now, held up his hands in defense. "That wasn't- that wasn't me." He pleaded innocently. Blaze turned forward again, stomping toward the costume shop purposefully. Silver looked over his shoulder nervously, and then followed Blaze again.

"Awooooo!"

"Yipe!" Silver jumped into Blaze again. He turned around before she could say anything and faced a brownish-yellow werefox with long claws.

It licked its lips and laughed, low and growly, showing sharp teeth. Silver just stood there, petrified with fear, staring at its large and pointy teeth, whimpering inaudibly. Blaze turned around too with a tell-off in mind, but it died on her lips, figuring out what was going on.

The werefox roared and clawed toward Silver. He regained his senses and dodged just in time. It then started a fistfight with Silver;

Or, uh, _tried,_ to start a fistfight with Silver. He was scared; he kept avoiding every blow and not offering any of his own. The werefox growled in frustration and threw another easily dodged punch.

"You can do it, Silver!" Blaze cheered.

Silver's face lit up. "Whoo!" He went into frenzy mode and began to punch the werefox quickly and effectively, running circles around it while it lunged clumsily at him.

After enduring a good deal of this, the aggravated werefox managed to grab Silver and began to spin him around and around above its head. "Whoaoaoaoaoaoaoa!" Silver yelled as he was spun, everything a blur. The once-settled Tootsie Rolls in his stomach began to churn again. He groaned in mid-air.

As if sensing Silver's predicament, the werefox spun him a few times really fast (Poor Silver) and sent him flying into a wall. He tensed for a second upon impact, then limply fell down the rest of the distance to the ground and lay there, face up, his eyes closed, unmoving.

Blaze, who had been watching raptly, leapt into the fray and threw a fiery punch at the werefox, screaming her vengeance.

By that time, it had had enough. The werefox finally crept away, whimpering like a dog. Blaze then turned her attention toward Silver.

She knelt down by him, and shook him, saying "Wake up, Silver. C'mon… Don't- Silver!"

He didn't move. Blaze shook him one last time, watching for a sign of life that didn't come. "Silver!" She wailed, losing her composure completely.

Silver's nose twitched.

He half-opened his eyes.

"Blaze…?" He looked up at her from the ground; saw her sideways face.

"I knew you shouldn't have eaten those." Blaze chided, her voice catching oddly.

Silver's ears drooped, expecting a reproach, but then Blaze dove for and hugged him, tears coming from her eyes. "D-don't _do_ that to me." She choked out. Silver closed his arms around her.

"I-I won't, Blaze. Promise." He said gently.

She sniffed. "I-I'm sorry. I-it's just- You weren't m-moving…" Blaze sobbed almost unintelligibly.

Silver's eyes were wide. Blaze never cried. She was usually so calm.

_Do I mean that much to her?_

Above the young lovers, the clock struck five.

Shadow was fuming. He, Amy, and Sonic had been going to the castle, which should have been an easy walk, and already Sonic had managed to get them lost. He had led them to the forest on the left of the front of the castle, insisting that it was a shortcut. Glaring at the blue hedgehog in front of him, he thought, _Sonic is an idiot. We __**could**__ have taken the path, but __**No**__, Mr. Smarter-than-everyone-else decided to screw it up and get us all lost! _

Shadow's fury peaked. His anger at Sonic consumed him, and he detachedly felt bloodthirsty and animal-like. He stopped walking, letting Amy and Sonic go farther ahead of him. Shadow's eyes widened slightly, as, deep down, the murderous sensation terrified him- he didn't think anyone could feel anything like that- causing his anger to subside. Then the vampirism faded as well.

_So that's it. Anger causes the vampire to take over… I can't let it. _As if in response to these words, the vampire came back, but now it was low-key, ready to leap forth when he let his guard down. It began to mess with his thoughts.

_Shadow, you know you __must__ drink… Let me __obtain control__ of your senses._

_No. You will cause nothing but death._

_Is that not what you __want__, Shadow? To gain revenge on this __"idiot"__ for misleading you? I know it is what you __crave__, Shadow__… Let me do it._

_I can't… I won't let you!_

It came off as a childish retort. The vampirism- if that is what it was- seemed to laugh, amused by this pitiful resistance.

_You are __too__weak_ _to claim what is rightfully yours. Why hold yourself back, to save __insignificant __lives? You know __you __must__, __my friend…Do you not feel your __thirst__?_

_Leave me alone! Stop…_ His head hurt suddenly. Headaches weren't unfamiliar with Shadow, but he hadn't had one this bad since when he had last had amnesia amidst Black Doom's lies and all of the killing.

_Killing._

Shadow clapped one hand to his forehead.

_Now__ will you give me what I want? Say __yes__, if you wish for me to __stop._

He couldn't think clearly enough to answer.

"Shadow! Come on!" Sonic yelled, far ahead of him. It helped distract him for a minute and the headache lessoned to tolerable. He quickly glided up to the Amy and Sonic.

"What's up? You get lost?" Sonic asked playfully.

Shadow didn't even blink. "No." He tried to put up the pretense that he didn't feel like a whirlwind was in his brain. "Let's- keep going." He forced out, forcing himself to walk ahead steadily.

The interruption gone, the headache flared up again. Shadow clenched his teeth and told himself to ignore the agonizing pain, tried to keep his focus on moving forward. It became an excruciating effort just to put one foot in front of the other, until finally he dropped to his knees, clapping both hands to his throbbing head.

Sonic was unaware of this, until he looked back to tell that slowpoke faker to hurry up. Then he saw Shadow on his knees, apparently in great pain. He stopped and went toward him.

"Come on, Son-" Amy started to say, but then she saw Shadow too.

He managed to look up at them. "The vampire- is regaining control of me. Argh… You have to run; get away! Go!" Shadow yelled desperately at Sonic, his eyes wide.

"We can't just _leave_ you like-"

"No! Run, before-!"

He froze.

"…Shadow?"

An evil chuckle rippled through him still on the ground. He stood up; Sonic backed away.

"Well? You heard him; run." The glassy-eyed Shadow slithered. Then, he laughed, high and cold.

They ran. The vampire laughed again and chased after them. Amy started lagging behind; Sonic ran back and scooped her up in his arms, his feet never touching the ground.

"This is the most fun I've had since Bram Stoker!" The vampire screamed happily.

"Bram who?" Amy asked.

"Never mind that," Sonic told her quickly. "The castle's right there." _Shadow just saved our lives. He just-…Wow._

Shadow stopped. "Now go; free our master!" He yelled triumphantly.

Sonic skidded to a halt, and turned toward the black and red hedgehog. "Why should we?" He quipped obstinately. Amy made a small noise somewhere between fright and trying to call Sonic an idiot as quietly as possible.

The vampire hissed at them. "Don't be idiotic. You want your weak-minded friend back, I want my master freed. Only a fair trade." He twitched, and for a moment it seemed the smile was overtaken by a familiar set frown. "Be quick. The sun rises; I take him _forever._" He recovered and grinned madly.

Sonic glared at the vampire a moment, glanced at the soon-to-be-sunrise, and ran towards the castle.


End file.
